Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-04-11
-n to- Affirmative voting


filed as soon as sent in.
weascns for Affirmative voting
We would advise our readers TO
carefully consider the Proclamation
of the Governor submitting tue
amendments to the Constitution to
be voted upon by the people to-mor-
row. Whilst our people are gener'
ally interested in Amendments Nos.
1 and 2, relating to the Supreme
Court and the increase OF salaries OF
the Justices and some OF the Supe-
rior Judges, Amendment No. is OF
especial and vital Importance to the
city of Los Angeles. If this amend
ment be adopted, we shall be en-
powered to frame our charter to suit
ourselves. and this means for us, par
ticuIarly at this time, more than
would appear on the surface. win
ont the passage OF this amendment
Los Angeles will never be able TO
.ecnre a charter that will suit her in
terests and al the same time guard
her most vital rights. Under the
Constitution as it now is, she would
be com PEELED to group with at least
two other cities in this State. Those
cities are more or less deeply COM
mitted by their interests to the ripa-
rian doctrine. Any instrument
which might thus be secured would
he subject to amendment by the
Legislature, and we might at any
time wake up to find that changes
had been made in it which would
place in jeopardy the right OF our
city to the waters OF the Los An
geles river. We cannot afford to
incur anv such serious risk, and con-
uently, unless this amendment
pass, we shall have to jog along IN
definitely under our present charter
"a good enough instrument for CITY
of eight or ten thousand inhabitants,
but altogether inadequate to our
wants now, and lacking in the tiexi-
bility that should characterize the
organic law of a city of fifty thousand
people. with its wonderful growth
and material advancement, and its
rapid progress towards metropolitan
dimen sions. The relief which this
amendment will bring us is not con-
fined to the necessary public i'm
provemen,s of to-day, but it will en-
able us, as we progress and develop,
and experience the want OF greater
and perhaps unforeseen public I'M
proyements, to secure them OF our
own motion. =. The time will come
and indeed it is not far distant-when
Los An geles shall have to adopt
water system entirely different from
the one we now have. We shall be
called upon, in order to meet the re-
ouirements of our immediate and
tributary lands, to utilize for irri-
eating purposes every drop OF water
which is carried in the Los Angeles
river the year round. To do this we
shall be required to establish great
storage reservoirs in the available de-
pressions of the hill territory on both
sides of the river. And to carry out
this object of economy we shall
be required to convey the water
in close yiaducts to elevated points
where great cisterns shall form the
focus of distribution by pipes to the
lands which can be reached from
their planes. q When it becomes a
vital question to establish system OF
works of this pre-eminently important
character, we do not wish to find our
selves in the helpless condition we
would be in il this amendment fail
to receive the affirmative vote OF a
majority of the people. The means
to carry out such a system can only
be placed within our reach by the
constitutional delegation to us OF the
power which this amendment will
give our city. We therefore submit
that it would not only be an unwise,
but a suicidal act, for the people OF
Los Angeles not to give this amend
ment their affirmative vote.......The
Record Union, in urging the adoption
of the amendment, says: "It is an
effort to attain that desirable end
nearness Of government to the peo
ple. It proposes to release cities from
legislative and lobby interference with
domestic concerns, and to give to the
people of municipalities the privilege |
of legislating for the corporations in
All matters OF local need ard econo-
my. That this amendment will meet
with any objection whatever from
sensible people is not at all probable"
A SIG sAL instance OF the goodwill
and toleranc, of the age was mani
~ - of t1< Tov., ~